Sacrifice
by Celaena777
Summary: OC who takes Zoro's place during the Thriller Bark sacrifice. Some fluff. OC x Zoro


**Silence. Not a single sound was heard among the destruction, the aftermath of a fight. Rocks ranging from larger than Franky to smaller than Chopper were strewn about. Most of the rubble were covering members of the Straw Hat Pirates and the stranded pirates who hand their shadows stolen. Luffy was lying face-up on a small area free of rubble, fatally injured from his fight and extensive use of his double-edged powers.**

**Seemingly to have materialized out of nowhere, Kume appeared, a hulking marine with a daunting presence. He towered over Luffy, his shadow extending over an unnatural area, making him appear all the more sinister. He raised his arm, ready to kill Luffy, before a figure appeared from the shadows. Covered with a mixture of sweat, grime and blood, was Raven.**

**With feral eyes, she lifted her scythe and attacked. She swung her scythe at Kuma, aiming for his neck. However, he raised his palm to block it. Raven was unexpectedly flung backwards when her scythe connected with his palm, the recoil of her own strength magnified with his devil fruit powers. She crashed into a wall and lights exploded before her eyes. She was also sure that she had heard and felt her arm crack. She clenched her fists to test how bad the damage was before remembering that it did not matter, she would protect her captain, the man who had saved her from herself, with her life. Ignoring the throbbing of her broken arm, Raven launched herself at Kuma.**

**She faked an attack to the right to try to catch him off guard but he grabbed her legs and tossed her into the air. Quickly seeing that Kuman was about to shoot his beam at her, she flipped around mid air and dived to meet the attack head-on. Her face scrunched up in pain as it went through her stomach, causing her to cough up blood. Gritting her teeth in determination, she continued falling towards Kuma.**

**Before she was able to land a hit on him, Kuma had already sent her flying into the ground. She landed with a resounding crack, back arched and eyes nearly rolling to the back of her head. She slowly sat up and regarded Kuma with solemn eyes.**

"**Why must you take Luffy's head?!" She knew that she would not be able to defeat the man, she was too exhausted and injured.**

"**That is as far as i am willing to compromise."**

**Raven slowed down her breathing, accepting what she was about to do and muttering a silent apology to the crew. They were strong, no doubt, that was why she was sure that they would be able to overcome the sadness that would follow her decision.**

"**Fine… I'll let you have one head."**

**She moved onto her hands and knees, not surprised when she did not feel pain, just numbness. **_**I suppose it's only natural after what we went through…**_

"**However, in exchange… Please! Take my life for his! I may not be worth much at the moment, but remember all the marines i killed before? Think of this as doing justice for them."**

**After a moment's pause, "You wish to take that man's place and approach death?"**

"**Yes. After all, what kind of pirate would i be if i can't even protect my own captain? Luffy will become the pirate king!"**

**They stared at each other, both not willing to give in.**

"**Oi."**

**Raven's eyes widened at the sight of the green-haired swordsman stumbling their way, using his prized swords to keep himself upright. He was barely even able to walk straight. **

"**What do you think you're doing? How are you supposed to find your sister if you're dead?!"**

**She turned her head away from him and gritted her teeth in an effort to not lash out at him. Why couldn't he understand that she was doing this for them?! **_**Let him say what he wants, my mind is set.**_

"**Hey big guy! Instead of her life, take mine instead. The head of the future world's number one swordsman!" Zoro directed his words to Kuma.**

**Raven looked up at him. She knew that he would do this. Before she could make another move, Zoro spoke again, this time to her.**

"**Sorry, but, looks like you'll have to find another swordsman."**

**Unable to take his words silently any more, Raven used the end of her scythe to hit Zoro in the stomach. He spun around and grabbed one of her shoulders, clearly not having expected her to do that. **

"**Y-you…!"**

**She kept silent. There were no words that would help now. She watched as he slowly fell to the ground, unconscious once again. She threw her scythe in front of her and gazed towards Kuma, a silent battle between them. At last, he sighed.**

"**If i were to lay my hand on Straw Hat after this, my honour would be at stake."**

**He walked towards Luffy and picked him up.**

"**You can trust me, i will keep my promise. But… before i claim your sacrifice, i will make you experience **_**hell**_**."**

**He raised his free arm to Luffy's chest, causing a large translucent red paw-shaped thing to come out of him. Kuma then gently placed Luffy back onto the ground, keeping his promise to not hurt him.**

"**What i have just repelled from his body was his suffering… his pain. This is all the damage he has accumulated during his battles with Moria and Oz. If you wish to take his place, then naturally you will also have to take in all of his pain. However, since you are already close to death, if you were to take in all of this, it would be impossible to survive. You will die."**

**After a moment's pause, "Try some."**

**Kuma then detached a small portion of it and let it float towards Raven. Once it had all disappeared inside of her, the pain began. Her pupils rolled to the back of her head as her body was wracked with violent convulsions. **

"**UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**

**The pain was like she had ever experienced before. How could this only be a small portion of it?! She fell forwards to the ground, struggling to breathe properly. **_**Heh, our captain really is something.**_ **She thought with faint amusement. **

"**Just… let me pick the location."**

**Raven grimaced as her voice came out cracked and barely above a whisper. She did not want anyone to see what was going to happen - they didn't deserve to.**

**-{~}-**

**Raven stood before the paw-shaped ball with no signs of regret, she would gladly give up her life for not just Luffy, but any of them. The people who had helped her escape from her cage, helped her be free. **_**I'm sorry, everyone… But this is where my journey ends.**_

**She stepped into **_**agony.**_

**-{~}-**

"**You're kidding right?! What the heck's going on with you?!"**

**The laughter of Straw Hat Luffy filled the air. The crew members were one by one waking up. Luffy had pleasantly found that when he awoke, he felt no pain whatsoever! The others were, for lack of a better word, confused as to how it had happened. Even going as far as wondering if all they damage he took canceled the pain and instead gave him a high.**

**However, unlike the rest who were relieved that the ordeal was over, when Zoro awoke he was strangely unsettled as if he had forgotten something incredibly important. His roaming eyes landed on a discarded scythe lying a metres away from him. The memories of what happened minutes before came rushing back. He took off running, a creeping suspicion settling in his stomach. When was the last time he had ever felt so worried?**

"**Although everything seems fine, where are you?!"**

**Blood. So much blood. And lying right in the middle of it all… was Raven.**

**-{~}-**

**Zoro sat beside Raven's makeshift bed, refusing to move even when Chopper told him that he was in the way. **

**Once he had carried her back to the crew, Chopper immediately ordered everyone to retrieve his medical supplies. Zoro just stared blankly at Raven, his thoughts running wild but he didn't **_**understand **_**them. Maybe he was feeling so much that his face could not decide on what to show. He didn't remember much of anything up until Chopper came to him and told him that she was alright now, that she was alive. It took Zoro a few minutes to comprehend what he had just said. **_**She was alive. She isn't dead. She is alive.**_

**Since then, he hasn't moved from her side, no matter what they others did. Until she woke up, he would stay by her side.**

**-{~}-**

**It was hours - **_**days**_ **before Raven. It was during the dead of the night, when everything was sound asleep. Except Zoro. He was not able to sleep, the longer Raven sleep, the more he became determined to see her wake up. And she did.**

"**Z-Zoro?"**

**Raven's voice was weak and hard to hear even though there was no other sound. Her throat felt like sandpaper and every part of her throbbed with fire. **_**Well, pain means that i'm not dead.**_

**Thank god, she thought, that it was the middle of the night. Even the almost-nonexistent light from the moon made her head hurt, she didn't want to imagine the headache she would get from the sun.**

**Zoro, seeming to have noticed her discomfort, shifted himself so that he was blocking the moonlight. He had felt so much relief when Raven had opened her eyes that it took all his willpower to not hug her and make sure that it was real, that he wasn't dreaming and she was really here with him. **

**Raven tried to push herself into a sitting position. The strain proved too much and her arms collapsed under herself. Zoro quickly caught her before her head had hit the ground, not wanting her to get any more hurt than she already was. He helped her to lean against one a nearby stone pillar, knowing that she would be too stubborn to continue lying down. He sat down next to her, both of them facing the dark forest. They sat like that for a while.**

"**Why?" Zoro asked, the question coming out harsher than he intended. "Why would you do something so **_**stupid?!**_"

"**To protect Luffy." Raven replied, like it was the simplest thing in the world. She was slightly confused at Zoro's anger. He had no right to be angry! He had been about to sacrifice himself too!**

"**To protect Luffy?! You almost died! No, you did die! You were dead when i found you in the forest, covered with your own blood! I ran back to Chopper with your **_**dead body**_**! You were so, so pale and **_**cold **_**and-and… You were dead…" **

**Zoro's voice wavered as he continued until he could no longer. He lowered his head into his hands, palms digging into his eyes which were squeezed shut to keep the sudden tears from escaping. He had been so scared that she had really left them... him.**

**Raven was left shocked at the sudden outburst. She hadn't thought that it would affect him to that extent! Zoro never cried! Ignoring her body's protest, she wrapped her arms around Zoro and pulled him into a one-sided hug.**

"**I'm sorry for worrying you. But, i'm not sorry for doing it. If i had a choice, i would it again without hesitation." As much as she was feeling guilty, she wouldn't lie to him.**

**A few minutes passed but neither of them had moved from that position. Raven, thinking it was weird that Zoro had not replied, turned to look at him only to find that he had fallen asleep. She smiled fondly at his sleeping face. **_**Only you…**_

**She carefully shifted him so that his head was resting on her lap. Frowning at the dark circles under his eyes, she thought, **_**were you watching me this whole time? **_**She used her finger to smooth the crease between his eyebrows and began playing with his green hair. Laying a quick kiss on his forehead, she too fell asleep.**

_**A few minutes later**_

**Zoro softly cupped her cheek with his hand, tracing over a bandage. **

"**You won't have to do it again. I'll get stronger, strong enough to protect you from everything."**

_**The next morning**_

**"******OI! STUPID MARIMO HEAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RAVEN-CHAN?!"****


End file.
